PIERMONT, N.Y. - The driver of a boat that crashed into a construction barge on the Hudson River near the Tappan Zee Bridge, killing a bride-to-be and injuring at least four others, was charged Saturday with a felony count of vehicular manslaughter, authorities said.

Jojo K. John, 35, of Nyack was charged after a body believed to be that of Lindsey Stewart, 30, of Piermont was found in the river not far from the Tappan Zee Marina in Piermont at 12:45 p.m. Saturday. Stewart was not wearing a life jacket, officials said.

The Rockland County Medical Examiner was to make a positive identification.

Alcohol is considered a factor in the charge, said Rockland County Undersheriff Robert Van Cura, based on a blood sample and witness statements. John also is charged with three counts of second-degree vehicular assault.

John, who is in Nyack Hospital, was arraigned and remanded to the custody of the Rockland County Sheriff on $250,000 bail.

The best man for Stewart's wedding, Mark Lennon, remains missing.

Of the six people aboard the boat when it crashed into the barge just south of the bridge shortly before 11 p.m. Friday, two had life jackets on, Van Cura said. He was not sure whether Lennon was wearing one.

The other four, including Stewart's fiancé, Brian Bond of Piermont, were hospitalized after they were pulled from the water late Friday night.

Bond and Stewart were to be married in Pearl River on Aug. 10.

Earlier Saturday, Stewart's stepfather, Walter Kosik, held out hope that she was alive. He and his wife, Carol Stewart, spent the early morning hours at the Piermont waterfront, where they laid white roses onto the water.

The couple lived on the first floor of a small two-story house at the entrance to the Tappan Zee Marina, facing Piermont Avenue. They had lived there for several years and did not own a boat, said Roger Schneider, the marina owner and their landlord.

Kosik said the boat belonged to someone Stewart or her friend knew.

William Barbera, chief of patrol of the Rockland County Sheriff's Department, said 10 agencies had boats in the water. The Rockland County helicopter was also being brought in to search the 3-mile-wide river. Authorities were still treating it as recovery operation, he said.

"We have an active search going on at this point," Barbera said. "We have a numerous vehicles in the water."

Authorities have not yet officially identified the six victims.

The investigation to determine the cause of the crash was ongoing, as some boaters questioned whether the barge was properly lighted and visible. Authorities are looking to see if alcohol or speed were factors, and detectives interviewed the survivors overnight - three were taken to Nyack Hospital and one to Westchester County Medical Center in Valhalla.

Barbera said there are lights on the barges, but one boating couple said the vessels are nearly impossible to see at night.

Craig and Celeste Kmiecik of Ho-Ho-Kus, N.J., who keep their 28-foot boat at Tappan Zee Marina, in Piermont, were at a barbecue in Irvington on Friday night. They said the water was calm and the night crystal clear, but nonetheless, it was very difficult to see the black barges in the dark.

"If you don't have radar, there's no way of seeing what's in front of you," Craig Kmiecik said. "No doubt that's what happened."

There are numerous barges moored north and south of the bridge - some holding cranes and others holding equipment - for the project.

Kosik, Stewart's stepfather, said a boat owner told him there were no lights on the barge.

"So it was impossible for them to see," he said.

"While the Rockland County Sheriff, N.Y. State Police and U.S. Coast Guard continue to investigate this tragic incident, the New York State Thruway Authority is conducting its own review of safety procedures on the Hudson River as part of the New NY Bridge Project," Brian Conybeare, a special adviser on the bridge replacement project, said in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families during this difficult time.

"At this point, Tappan Zee Constructors, LLC (TZC) has reported to the Thruway Authority that all Coast Guard lighting requirements were met and that the barges were properly lit Friday night. All lighting was checked Saturday morning and is fully operational at all barge locations associated with the project. Thruway and TZC have worked with the Army Corps of Engineers and Coast Guard to determine approved locations for the barges and appropriate information has been provided to be included in Notices to Mariners. Impact pile driving originally scheduled for today has been temporarily suspended out of respect for the victims and to accommodate the investigation."

Tappan Zee Constructors said Saturday it would have no comment, citing the pending investigation.

Westchester County police have deployed a high-tech boat and helicopter to assist the search.

Detective C.J. Westwood, with the county marine unit, said he and two crewmembers searched the waters till 2:30 a.m. Saturday, using infrared technology to scan for survivors. They returned at 9 a.m. for what he said continues to be a search-and-rescue mission.

"We're still pursuing it as an active search," he said shortly before 1 p.m. Saturday, noting that they're searching a 2-mile stretch from Piermont Pier to the bridge.

Westwood called it one of the worst boating accident he's encountered during his 13 years with the marine unit.

Kosik described Stewart as a beautiful girl and said Stewart and Bond had been in a relationship for 3½ years. They met as children, along with Bond's best man, at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Pearl River. They were due to be married at that same church, followed by a reception at Torne Valley Vineyards in Hillburn. They were to honeymoon in the Grenadine Islands in the Caribbean, he said.

Stewart worked at Prudential Life Insurance Co. in Nyack, and Bond is an art teacher in Westchester.

"It was two weeks before the wedding, a beautiful night to take the boat out," Kosik said.

Kim Higgins, aunt of the bride, stood on the shore of the Hudson River sobbing late Saturday morning. Her sister, the bride-to-be's mother, called her late Friday night to tell her of the accident. "They were perfect for each other," Higgins said.

Rescue workers searched almost three hours for the two missing boaters using boats and helicopters between Piermont and the Tappan Zee Bridge. The search was called off shortly before 1:30 a.m. Saturday.

The crash, which involved a 21-foot Stingray powerboat, was reported at 10:40 p.m., said Ali Flockerzi, a U.S. Coast Guard spokeswoman.

Anthony Apolito, 18, a valet working at the Pier 701 bar and restaurant, described a troubling scene once the injured boaters were brought to shore at the Tappan Zee Marina.

"There was blood on arms, everywhere," he said. "I don't even know how to explain it. It was depressing."

One man had his face drenched in blood and some wore neck braces, Apolito said, adding that most appeared disoriented.

"All of the questions they were being asked - half of them they couldn't even answer," he said, adding that none seemed to know what had caused the crash.

Piermont Fire Chief Bill Cavanaugh said that one of the boaters also had a head injury. In addition, the vessel's captain was unconscious when found, leaving the remaining passengers who were unfamiliar with the Hudson River and Tappan Zee Bridge area to direct rescuers to their location, he said.

At one point, 911 dispatchers had to extract coordinates of the cellphone the distressed boaters were using to assist with directing the rescue. But because there were several boats on the water looking, rescuers soon were able to spot the boaters, Cavanaugh said.

The four boaters where then placed on two rescue boats and taken to the Tappan Zee Marina, where at least three ambulances were on the scene with sheeted gurneys at the ready, along with dozens of emergency and rescue apparatus.

The search for the two missing boaters began immediately, with dive teams, vessels and air support looking for hours with no success, Cavanaugh said. About 1 a.m., responders began bringing in their equipment in preparing to call off the search, although officials said the Rockland County sheriff's office, which was handling the investigation, still had the damaged boat out on the river.

The marina was used as a staging area for the victims while the Piermont Pier was used as a command post for the first responders, officials said.

Cavanagh said that firefighters had been training to conduct rescues, particularly in anticipation of construction barges being used for the Tappan Zee Bridge project.

"I didn't think we would get a boat accident of this magnitude so soon," he said.

The Rockland County Sheriff's Office is the lead agency on the search. It is being assisted in the water by the Westchester County Police Marine Unit, Yonkers police, state police, state park police, and the Tarrytown, Irvington, Piermont and Nyack fire departments. The Coast Guard is also on the scene.